Dvorak News Blog

Today’s Major Crime Report — 9-Yr Old Busted By Officer For Playing In A Tree

By Uncle Dave Tuesday August 4, 2009

Come on now. Don’t blame the kid. It was the tree’s fault for being there.

For Kade-Liam Read, his summer holiday was meant to be filled with happy memories of the five cousins he rarely sees. Instead the nine-year-old was left ‘terrified’ after a PCSO gave him a stern warning for climbing a tree, leaving him standing in the park with paperwork to fill out. The boy, who lives in Germany, was visiting his cousins in Churchdown, Gloucester, and his parents now fear he will be too scared to return to England.

His father Bryan Read, 45, said: “They were just playing on the park and climbing the tree when the community police came and gave them a blue slip for anti-social behaviour. They said they were abusive but my son can’t even speak English so how could he be abusive?”
[…]
A force spokeswoman said today: ‘While we would not discourage any child from playing and having fun in a park we must also respond to official complaints made from the public.
[…]
‘A PCSO was sent to talk to the children who explained to them that their behaviour had upset one of the neighbours, and that it would be better if they played further away from the houses to avoid any further upset. It was explained that no criminal offence had taken place and that they were not in trouble but, in accordance to national policy, they had to be given a Stop and Account form to show where and why they were spoken to.

How Not To Create A Campaign Website

By Uncle Dave Tuesday August 4, 2009

10 Comments

Ah, remember the days when politicians ran clean campaigns based only on issues? Me neither.

Add a new item to the long list of political shenanigans that backfire once discovered. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) has decided to run for Texas governor against incumbent Rick Perry, and her new campaign website contained hidden text that read “rick perry gay.”
[…]
Texas newspapers uncovered the hidden text last week. The “rick perry gay” reference was one of only thousands of phrases tucked into the source code for Hutchison’s site, apparently to help draw search engine traffic.

Hutchison’s campaign initially told the Austin American-Statesman that “a vendor sold them on a tool that generates the phrases hourly or less in an attempt to divine the most frequent Web searches made by individuals who search online using one or all of the terms ‘Rick Perry,’ ‘Kay Bailey Hutchison’ and ‘Texas'”—and plenty of people search for “rick perry gay.”

The tool was allegedly used to help make banner ad buying decision, said the campaign, a claim that makes little sense on its face. Why would such a list be inserted in the website’s source code unless the goal was to draw search traffic to the site?

Whatever the reason for it, the Hutchison campaign blamed the vendor who developed the site and removed the Perry reference. On July 30, Google removed the campaign’s site from its search index as a penalty for using more than 2,000 hidden terms. Yahoo then followed suit.

I wonder what other dirty tricks politicians use on the Interwebitubes?

Jobless graduate sues her college

By John C Dvorak Tuesday August 4, 2009

26 Comments

BBC NEWS | Jobless graduate sues her college — Now this would set some kind of wild precedent, no?

A New York woman who says she cannot find a job is suing the college where she obtained a bachelor’s degree, the New York Post reports.Trina Thompson, 27, filed a lawsuit last week against Monroe College in Bronx Supreme Court.She is seeking to recover $70,000 £42,000 she spent on tuition to get her information technology degree.

Found by Steveo.

Have you seen this yet?

By Eideard Monday August 3, 2009

34 Comments

Only appearing in four cities. Boston, Chicago, New York and San Francisco.

How long before we get some decent parodies?

Radio Shack to be Renamed The Shack

By John C Dvorak Monday August 3, 2009

33 Comments

Apple and Google to be probed by FTC.
Schmidt quits Apple board.
Google meanwhile puts up billboards aimed at MSFT.
Hacked and fake ATM machine crops up at Defcon. Hackers discover it.
My new pet peeve, using the term “bake-in” instead of the word “add.”
iPod blows up, Apple tries to buy off family in UK.
Radio Shack will change name to THE SHACK. Gak.
Bing up another point.
No Win7E for EU.
Today’s show brought to you by eharmony.com use the code EHTECH for a discount.

click ► to listen:

Right click here and select ‘Save Link As…’ to download the mp3 file.

Economic Outlook Index, July 2009

By John C Dvorak Monday August 3, 2009

22 Comments

Feh. Good news, more bad news.

Liberal Protesters Express Displeasure with Obama Health Care Plan… Rep. Doggett (D) Flees

By McCullough Monday August 3, 2009

68 Comments

Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D) of the 25th District of Texas was one of the first members of Congress to face the ire of his constituents during a recent town hall meeting at a Randall’s store in Austin over health care reform.

According to the Austin American Statesman:

“Doggett, D-Austin, spoke at the Randalls at Brodie and Slaughter lanes on Saturday. A video of the event on YouTube shows many in the crowd showed up with signs denouncing President Obama’s proposed health care plan. “Witnesses say that when Doggett was asked if he would support the plan even if he found his constituents opposed it, Doggett said he would still support the plan. From there, the crowd began chanting ‘Just Say No,’ and overwhelmed the congressman as he moved through the crowd and into the parking lot.”

What is remarkable about this protest is that the 25th District of Texas is one of the most liberal in the state, being majority Hispanic and containing the city of Austin, a liberal conclave in the middle of Red State Texas. Lloyd Doggett has been a reliably liberal Congressman, opposing the Iraq War and the Patriot Act, and supporting gay marriage, gun control, partial birth abortion, and immigration reform.

“Suppose we get the South Park guys to make a sales promo for the film studio we just bought…”

By Uncle Dave Monday August 3, 2009

15 Comments

When Seagrams bought Universal Studios back in the 90’s, president Edgar Bronfman hired Matt and Trey to make a film for the occasion. The result was a tad different than what he was hoping for.

Finally, a real cure for Swine Flu!

By Joe C Monday August 3, 2009

12 Comments

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian soccer fans have been told to drink whiskey on their trip to Wales for next month’s World Cup qualifier to ward off the H1N1 swine flu virus, the head of the country’s supporter association (VOB) said Monday.

“We urge our fans to drink a lot of Welsh whisky as a form of disinfection,” VOB head Alexander Shprygin told Reuters.

“That should cure all symptoms of the disease.”

Many readers of this blog are happy to realize they are now immune from H1N1.

What the Hotness of Your Waitress Says About the Economy

By John C Dvorak Monday August 3, 2009

16 Comments

What the Hotness of Your Waitress Says About the Economy — New York Magazine — FYI

In New York, we have our own economic indicators, often based on the degree to which people are being thwarted by the lack of opportunity. An old standby is the Overeducated Cabbie Index. The Squeegee Man Apparition Index is another good one. There’s also the Speed at Which Contractors Return Calls Index: within 24 hours, you’re in a recession; if they call you without prompting, that’s a depression.

The indicator I prefer is the Hot Waitress Index: The hotter the waitresses, the weaker the economy. In flush times, there is a robust market for hotness. Selling everything from condos to premium vodka is enhanced by proximity to pretty young people (of both sexes) who get paid for providing this service. That leaves more-punishing work, like waiting tables, to those with less striking genetic gifts. But not anymore.

A waitress at one Lower East Side club described to me what happened there: “They slowly let the boys go, then the less attractive girls, and then these hot girls appeared out of nowhere.

Found by John Ligums.

Gov’t CCTV Cameras to Be Put in British Homes to Monitor Family Behavior

By John C Dvorak Monday August 3, 2009

22 Comments

Daily Express |Sin bins for worst families — It’s more and more amazing to me how much Orwellian guff the British public will tolerate. What is wrong with them?

The Children’s Secretary set out £400million plans to put 20,000 problem families under 24-hour CCTV super-vision in their own homes.They will be monitored to ensure that children attend school, go to bed on time and eat proper meals.Private security guards will also be sent round to carry out home checks, while parents will be given help to combat drug and alcohol addiction.Around 2,000 families have gone through these Family Intervention Projects so far.

Found by Micah Phillips.

Eric Schmidt resigns from Apple board

By Eideard Monday August 3, 2009

11 Comments

Daylife/Getty Images used by permission

Eric Schmidt, chief executive officer of Google, has resigned from the board of Apple, the company said in a statement.

“Eric has been an excellent Board member for Apple, investing his valuable time, talent, passion and wisdom to help make Apple successful,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Unfortunately, as Google enters more of Apple’s core businesses, with Android and now Chrome OS, Eric’s effectiveness as an Apple Board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest. Therefore, we have mutually decided that now is the right time for Eric to resign his position on Apple’s Board.”

The way I see it, he got shown the door by Jobs. Back in May, Schmidt said he had no plans to resign from Apple’s board.

Over the last few days, as the Google Voice apps fiasco has taken on a life of its own, I have been busy pointing out that this battle was between Apple and Google.

I believe that AT&T has become a piñata in the high-stakes war being waged by Apple and Google. Why do we believe that these two companies are not in competition with each other? Is it because Eric Schmidt sits on the Apple board? This battle between Google and Apple is going to get very ugly — as it should. Both companies have pinned their futures on smartphones.

Golly, what a surprise!

Oddly, Health Insurance Industry Isn’t Interested In Helping People, Only Their Wallets

By Uncle Dave Monday August 3, 2009

99 Comments

Admittedly, this is not exactly a stunning revelation. But it is refreshing to see the industry quake a bit when the truth is told out loud. Lots of links to videos and transcripts on the site.

Last month, testimony in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation by a former health insurance insider named Wendell Potter made news even before it occurred: CBS NEWS headlined: “Cigna Whistleblower to Testify.” After Potter’s testimony the industry scrambled to do damage control: “Insurers defend rescissions, take heat for lack of transparency.”

In his first extended television interview since leaving the health insurance industry, Wendell Potter tells Bill Moyers why he left his successful career as the head of Public Relations for CIGNA, one of the nation’s largest insurers, and decided to speak out against the industry. “I didn’t intend to [speak out], until it became really clear to me that the industry is resorting to the same tactics they’ve used over the years, and particularly back in the early ’90s, when they were leading the effort to kill the Clinton plan.”
[…]
Looking back over his long career, Potter sees an industry corrupted by Wall Street expectations and greed. According to Potter, insurers have every incentive to deny coverage — every dollar they don’t pay out to a claim is a dollar they can add to their profits, and Wall Street investors demand they pay out less every year. Under these conditions, Potter says, “You don’t think about individual people. You think about the numbers, and whether or not you’re going to meet Wall Street’s expectations.”

Firms cited in bridge collapse get $55 million in new contracts

By Eideard Monday August 3, 2009

13 Comments

Daylife/AP Photo used by permission

Since the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge two years ago, state transportation officials have awarded more than $55 million in contracts to URS Corp. and Progressive Contractors Inc. — the two companies it now holds largely responsible for the disaster.

Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) records show that it gave the two companies contracts for projects across the state in those two years, including work to predesign other bridges. At least one of the companies played a small part in building the new I-35W bridge.

URS’ most recent contract with MnDOT is for a traffic simulation project in the Twin Cities metro area. The agency authorized the $99,892 contract July 23 — just a few days before the state filed suit against URS, a San Francisco-based company that for four years was MnDOT’s main consultant concerning the bridge. The lawsuit cites URS as negligent and accuses it of violating basic engineering standards.

MnDOT spokesman Kevin Gutknecht said Friday that the agency would not comment on other contracts it has awarded to URS because of its lawsuit against the company regarding the I-35W bridge. “We do not comment on matters under litigation,” he said…

In its lawsuit, the state accused URS of failing to adequately inspect and analyze the 40-year-old steel-truss bridge and of failing to detect that the bridge’s gusset plates were underdesigned and inadequate. It collapsed Aug. 1, 2007, killing 13 people and injuring 145 others.

In May, the state filed a legal claim against Progressive Contractors, saying that the construction company whose workers were on the bridge the day it fell did not tell MnDOT the details of its plan to place heavy equipment and materials on the bridge.

Bureaucrats so incapable of change they’d rather give money away to incompetents than find a new way to do business.

Who Could Have Guessed That Fixing The Deficit Would Require New Taxes?

By Uncle Dave Monday August 3, 2009

41 Comments

This must be a mistake. I was reading the Prez’s lips last year the way the old guy had us do and he said I could have my cake and eat it too.

To get the economy back on track, will President Barack Obama have to break his pledge not to raise taxes on 95 percent of Americans? In a “This Week” exclusive, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told me, “We’re going to have to do what’s necessary.”

Geithner was clear that he believes a key component of economic recovery is deficit reduction. When I gave him several opportunities to rule out a middle class tax hike, he wouldn’t do it.

“We have to bring these deficits down very dramatically,” Geithner told me. “And that’s going to require some very hard choices.”

“We will not get this economy back on track, recovery will be not strong and sustained, unless we convince the American people that we are going to have the will to bring these deficits down once recovery is firmly established,” he said.

Even Summers said it. I wonder if all the bankers who got vast bonuses that were paid for with government money that raised the deficit will be taxed extra? It could happen…